Relax & Enjoy the Ride

By sewansped

• August 21, 2010

This cruise left right from Pier 80 in NYC. It was fantastic sailing past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazano Bridge. The narration of the history of the Statue and Ellis Island was interesting as well. There are 2 days at sea and the rise was very smooth. Weather fantastic, but is is more humid day 2 because you are passing the Carolina's and Florida. We arrived at Grand Turk in the AM and were the only ship in foor about 3 hours. We were then joined by a Carnival sister ship. Grand Turk consists of a small complex with the more popular shops including Diamonds International and Ron Jon Surf Shop. The beach is right on both sides of the pier so no excursion needed. ADVICE - use the beach near Margaritaville..more crouded, but the other side was total rocks. There is also a HUGE pool right at the pier. The following day is Half Moon Key ( their own island ) and you need to tender there. Wait until after 11 and you can get right on a boat. There is a barbecue and huge beach. The water is so clear you can see fish without a mask. The final day was Nassau. This is a huge port and there were 6 other ships in. Crazy crouded near the port,,better in town. The Straw Market is cute but crazy hot and humid. They will be moving to an air conditioned facility in the future. The trip back is also 2 days long.

The ship is really pretty and in a 1920-30's theme. The halls have pictures of movie stars and one of the lounges is decorated like Alice in Wonderland. The kids camp is fantastic, with the kids grouped by age. Entertainment was actually not too bad and the Beatles show wonderful. I did have an issue with some of the decorations near the theatre. They had photos of nudes, which is inappropriate when children are on a ship. You could see their rear ends and some breast action. My 7 y/o niece was actually shocked and told me that it did not belong in a hallway !

The food is pretty good, but not the selection that other cruise lines have. There is ice cream, sndwiches, and pizza most of the day and night. The buffet is limited for most meals though. The good thing is that is is usually the same food served in the dining room, so if you want to stay casual you can. It was often cold though or over cooked. There is a fantastic sushi buffet as well as salad bar. Also a place by the pool for burgers, hotdogs, fries etc.

Overall it is a great cruise to relax on as there are not a lot of places to sight see and take excursions. You can go to the beach without a cab and the crew were very nice and helpful !